Collateral
by Out-of-Character217
Summary: Cloud's past arrives one night to catch up with him, leaving Leon in the cross fire as collateral damage. Prompt by istoleyourcheesecake.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is the result of a prompt from istoleyourcheesecake, who wanted something with guns and violence. I hope I hit the nail on the head.

I dunno bout you guys, but I feel like maybe this could go somewhere? Maybe a two parter?

In any case, read and enjoy. Credit to istoleyourcheesecake for the inspiration. The song lyrics belong to Lorde, original song belongs to Tears for Fears. Xxx

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><p>'<em>Welcome to your life.<br>There's no turning back  
>Even while we sleep<br>We will find you…_

_There's a room where the light won't find you  
>Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down<br>When they do I'll be right behind you_

_So glad we've almost made it_  
><em>So sad they had to fade it<em>  
><em>Everybody wants to rule the world'<em>

Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Lorde.

**Collateral**

It wasn't unusual for Cloud to be late home, but it was rare and forty five minutes was pushing it. Vague anxiety knotted itself in Leon's stomach. Gravel crunching underfoot, he walked quickly along the quiet backstreet taking a few shortcuts he knew well to get to the Engine Shed, a squat, sheet metal lean-to building in the industrial part of town. He knew it was closed for the night – he had seen Cid already, Cloud's colleague being the sort of person that like to keep order and time, if only so he could maximise his hours at the bar. Leon had waited for him there, the same as he'd done every weeknight for the last three years, and when numerous calls to Cloud's cell had failed to throw any light on the blond's whereabouts, that small, innocuous tug of unease began to grow and feel uncomfortable.

Leon rounded a leaf-blown corner, a chill wind freezing the tip of his nose and the points of his ears as he hunkered down into his scarf and hunched his shoulders, balling his fists deeper into his pockets and waited for the Shed to come into view behind the slatted fence.

Light spilled out from under the large sliding doors in a soft arc, illuminating and shadowing the modest forecourt. The tarmac was oil stained and wet, leaf mulch gathered up in the corners but it was otherwise empty. The office light was out showing that it was empty, but the diffused light from the garage itself, shining through the murky windows told Leon that someone was in there. It should have given the brunet a moderate amount of relief: it was obviously Cloud. Yet a heavy disquiet still sat in the pit of his stomach.

Crossing the forecourt, he reached the smaller door set into the larger sliding runner and pulled the handle, hearing the click of the latch and the rattle of the corrugated iron. He stepped inside, ducking a little and was about to pull the door closed behind him when he froze on the threshold, his hand tightening on the handle.

He had found Cloud, but who the other five men were, he had no idea.

'Leon, what are you doing here?' Cloud asked, the question a little too sharp, a little too nervous to be considered casual.

'You're late.' Leon explained, still not letting go of the door handle, one leg inside the Shed, one leg still in the forecourt. His eyes darted to each of the men, quickly evaluating them before they settled on Cloud. He didn't like the way they were all spread out, one sitting casually on the work benches, one leaning up against the back wall, rifling through a filing cabinet – though his snooping had stopped momentarily to assess the newcomer that had interrupted them.

'I'll be home in a little while, just wait for me there.' Cloud replied quickly, his deep voice undermined by a touch of panic. You wouldn't have noticed it, but Leon had known Cloud a fair while and he had never heard him sound like that before.

'What's going on, Cloud?' against his better judgement, Leon stepped the rest of the way into the Shed and closed the door behind him.

'Nothing, just do as I-'

'So this is the little wifey.' the man nearest to Cloud said, a casual smile breaking across his face that made Leon feel anything but at ease. The man wasn't old, but his greying, salt and peppered hair made his age impossible to determine. He was broad and heavy looking, with a rounded stomach and powerful looking hands. Neatly dressed in a black shirt and a dark felt overcoat, black slacks and polished dress shoes, he was out of place in the oil stained, grimy workshop. Stood next to Cloud, he was tall and imposing and that knot of apprehension that had been twisting in Leon's stomach was now a full blown siren.

'What's going on? Who is he, Cloud?' Leon asked, turning back to look at the blond, who had his eyes trained on the tall man, tension obvious in every line of his face.

'My name is Angelo Diego, and I'm not surprised Cloud here hasn't told you about me, you see,' Diego took a step towards Leon, his manner relaxed and casual with an undercurrent of something altogether dangerous and sinister running just below the surface. 'He's in a lot of trouble.'

Cloud moved, following Diego's steps with a flash of panic in his eyes, only to be stopped by a large hand in the centre of his chest; the fourth man, big and bald and just as immaculately dressed as Diego had moved across Cloud's path, blocking him from view for a split second.

Leon took a step back.

'What are you talking about?' Leon returned, swallowing back thick and bitter dread; it tasted like iron and ozone on his tongue.

'Not very smart this one, Cloud, but he's pretty. I'll give you that much.' Diego said flippantly over his shoulder. The comment made Cloud's brows furrow in anger, his jaw visibly clenching.

'He's got nothing to do with this, Diego. Just let him go.' Cloud ignored the hand against his chest, though he didn't attempt to push past it. His eyes were still hard and focused, trained on Diego, his whole body ridged and tense.

Diego turned back to Leon, his smile slipping low. The brunet starred back and when the large man spoke again it wasn't to him, but to Cloud, who Leon could see just over Diego's shoulder and behind the bald man, that hand still placed firmly against Cloud's chest.

'You've known me a long time, Cloud. You know that's not how this works.'

The moment Cloud began to struggle – his futile attempts to get past the huge bald man wild and ferocious - Leon's heart leapt into his mouth, his pulse beating painfully in his neck as every instinct in him told him to run. The fifth man, stood to Leon's left and way at the back of the shop had skirted around and closed in on the brunet while Diego had been talking, and as if from nowhere Leon found himself slammed up against the metal door, an arm across his throat as a hand seized his left wrist. He was turned sharply and slammed back into the door, his wrist pulled sharply up into the middle of his back and the wind was forced from his lungs as a weight pressed up against him; a fist in his hair jerked his head back into his neck.

Feeling his panic stiffen his limbs, making it hard for him to process his alarm, Leon was dragged away from the door. A foot came down into the back of his knee, crumpling the brunet to the ground and twisted his arm higher up into his back. The hand in his hair pulled back sharply and as he opened his eyes he found himself on his knees, looking up into Diego's face, the weak and insipid light from the naked bulbs in the garage's ceiling silhouetting the giant above him.

'DIEGO!' Cloud shouted. 'Diego I swear to god if you hurt him I'll kill you!'

He couldn't see him, but Leon heard Cloud, his voice high and panic stricken and somewhere off towards the back of the shop. Leon blinked hard, the light from the bulbs overhead making it hard to see around him when the flash of something metal glinted in his peripheral and then something hard and cold was pressed between his lips.

'You should have run further, Cloud. You should have been better at hiding.' Diego remarked, turning his body aside, giving Cloud a perfect view of Leon on his knees with a gun in his mouth.

A terrible, animalistic rage erupted in Cloud at the sight and he let out a guttural growl of rage as he struggled harder, kicking out with his legs, trying to break the hold the massive man behind him had on his arms. He'd break them out of his sockets if he had to.

'You want money?!' Cloud yelled, his chest heaving with toxic, fiery wrath. 'I can get you money, just let him go.'

Diego looked back over his shoulder, the line of his arm still dangerous and deadly, his thumb poised to cock the gun.

'Don't insult me by making this about money. This was _never_ about money. This is about integrity – honesty. This is about _loyalty_, Cloud. You know what loyalty means?'

Cloud's eyes flicked to Leon and saw the terror in his lover's eyes. He nodded his head.

'You say you do,' Diego replied, his eyes hard. 'But to me, loyalty means keeping your mouth shut. Loyalty means remembering whose side you're on. Loyalty means not _ratting_ someone out to save your own skin!' Diego's voice had grown louder. The subtle and intangible curtain that had hidden his volatile character had shifted, allowing glimpses of the dangerous man underneath and Cloud needed no reminding of exactly what this maniac was capable of. Cloud wasn't a man prone to begging or pleading. He had considered it to be a weakness and a waste of time. If your number was up, it was up, and where he came from, that number came up in the form of a gun or a knife to the back when you were least expecting it. Begging had been useless to all those people he'd been sent to deal with – to all those people he'd watched die. But he'd be damned if he'd just sit back and watch it happen to Leon. He'd get down on his own knees and kiss the soles of Diego's feet if he had to.

'I was just a kid, Diego. What did you expect me to do? They were going to put me away for life if I didn't promise to help them.' He tried to reason.

Diego's eyes darkened, his mouth turning down at the edges and Cloud's heart froze – knowing that look. The man removed the gun from Leon's mouth, changing the trajectory of his arm, shifting it to the left and down a bit and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out, loud, deafening, echoing around the tinny room, drowning out Cloud's desperate shout and Leon's cry of pain as the bullet ripped through the brunet's shoulder.

Leon sagged to the floor, the man behind him letting go of his arm and hair as he was effectively neutralised with pain.

Feral panic, hard and cold ceased Cloud's struggling and he stood, immobile, rooted to the spot, his eyes wide with disbelief and pain.

'You know I don't tolerate excuses. Don't insult me with them.' Diego said darkly, his soft words loud in the aftermath. Cloud heard them, their meaning resonating deep within him as he watched Leon squirm helplessly on the cold concrete, drops of his blood splashing on to the oil stains.

'Please,' Cloud heard himself whisper, unable to take his eyes off of the brunet quietly gasping and moaning in pain. 'Don't hurt him.'

'I'd say we're a little late for that.' Diego replied.

The man's words had an awakening effect on the blond. Like a head breaking the surface of water, he came back to himself, snapping his eyes back to the tall man. He felt that impotent rage again.

'What do you want?' he asked, preparing to sacrifice anything; prepared to beg for anything.

'Six years.' Diego replied lowly, his eyes steady and dark and resolute. 'Your betrayal cost me six years. I want them back.'

'I can't do that. You know I can't. Hurting Leon isn't going to change a damn thin-'

'If you give me one more excuse I'm gonna put a bullet in your faggot boyfriend's stomach and you can watch him die, slowly and painfully. Do you understand me?' Diego interrupted him, lifting the gun again and pointed it at Leon, who had managed to stay conscious and had pressed a hand to his shoulder, stemming the flow of blood until it was just a trickle, running over his fingers in claret rivulets. The threat barely registered. Somewhere between Diego and his men entering his workshop and Leon stumbling into the mix he had resigned himself to someone dying tonight. No one received a visit from Angelo Diego and lived. Four years of stealing cars, running drugs and killing in the mobster's name had proven that much to Cloud. Yet in his naivety, in his futile hope that he had left all of that behind, hoping that he had run far and long enough, he had forgotten. It was easy to forget really. Too easy.

'So what do you want from me?' Cloud asked, his patience beginning to run thin.

'I already told you: Six years. I want you to learn what it's like to watch those years go by without you. I want you to learn how precious they are. I want you to feel how maddening it is, knowing that each day you're losing more and more of your life as you sit and rot.' Diego lowered the gun and stepped over Leon, bending down to grab a fist full of his hair and forced him onto his knees.

Leon gave a muffled cry of pain, the sound leaking out from behind gritted teeth as he balanced himself precariously, his right arm dangling uselessly at his side as blood dripped from the ends of his fingers. To the man's credit, he struggled; wrenching away the mobster's grip on his hair with an elbow to his thigh. Diego stumbled, letting out a soft curse before bringing the butt of the gun down across the back of Leon's head, making the brunet grunt in pain and bowl over, clutching the back of his neck in agony. With an angry snarl, Diego gripped Leon's hair again, pulling him back into a kneeling position and pointed the gun back at his head.

'Leon, don't. Just… keep still.' Cloud implored, unable to catch the brunet's eye.

'This is insane, Diego. I'll give you whatever you want, just please… let him go!' he added, sensing that he was fast running out of time.

'Whatever I want?' Diego laughed, his amusement quickly turning into a snarl as he jerked on Leon's hair, whipping his head back harder. 'I want you to pick: Six people, starting with this one. Six people in your life that mean the most to you and I want you to watch as I take them all away from you.'

A terrible emotion swept over Cloud in that moment: Hopelessness. He realised he was giving up – resigning himself to this. His trigger happy, streetwise, quick-fire brain had stalled, and in a desperate moment of fluttering, useless panic, it dawned on him he had no way out. Diego hadn't come here to kill him. He had come here to _destroy _him.

He looked at Leon, who was pale and terrified and he felt his heart break. His lover had been his turning point – his waking moment. Leon had walked into his life, his unassuming and quiet nature drawing Cloud to him despite the blond's best efforts to keep himself away. He had been powerless to stop himself from falling for Leon – his goodness, his honesty, his simple, enigmatic kindness. The man had been nothing like his previous lovers. He was a writer, private and introspective, clever and gentle, stubborn and proud. He had been the opposite of everything that Cloud had been moulded into. Cloud was rough and uncouth, uneducated and tempestuous. He was filled with dark and unspeakable things and he had known that all of those things could have pushed Leon away, but they hadn't. The brunet had persisted. Leon had been his balm. He had made him feel worth something. He had made all of the terrible things Cloud had done seem like a lifetime ago and for a while there, he had lived his life not through the eyes of the stupid, reckless, seventeen year old kid he had been, but through the eyes of the man who had loved him enough to accept him. Without asking or accusing or judging, Leon had taken Cloud into his life and loved him. If Diego killed Leon tonight, there would be no need to take anyone else. Cloud's life would already be over. There was no one else that mattered to him more than Leon.

'If you kill him,' Cloud began, his voice low and dangerous, his eyes flicking to Diego, full of malevolent anger. 'If you kill him and leave me alive, I won't ever stop. I'll find you. I'll kill every man you put in my way until I find you. And I promise you, you'll die. After you've suffered enough, you'll die.'

Diego smiled. It was cold and humourless, his lips tight and waxen over his yellowed teeth as he grinned at Cloud, enjoying the man's rage and fear and horror.

'Who said anything about leaving you alive?'

A shot rang out, ripping a desperate cry from Cloud's lips as he flinched and felt his heart tear itself from his chest. Everyone stilled, the room thrown into silent chaos as Cloud's eyes darted about until they finally settling back on Diego who had gone pale and ridged, his eyes glassy and vacant as a slow trickle of blood tracked its way down the middle of his eyebrows and dripped off the end of his nose.

Cloud watched as the man collapsed, his eyes catching the small bullet wound in his forehead before he hit the ground. He spun his gaze around to his left and saw, over his shoulder, a small girl stood in the doorway of the darkened office, her frightened little face pale and immobile with shock as she held the gun in her trembling hands.

'Marlene!'

Cloud felt the grip on his arms go slack and taking advantage of his moment, he twisted to the side, ducking under the great hulk of the man behind him and out of his reach. Snatching the gun from the girl's fingers he threw her backwards, slamming the door closed as a huge weight crashed into his back, knocking him sideways and into a steel cabinet. He grunted with pain, shaking his head quickly to clear his vision and slammed his elbow back, the sharp angle connecting with the soft, fleshy stomach of the man behind him. The weight lifted, and Cloud twisted his torso, raising the handle of the gun above the back of the man's head and brought it down across his exposed skull. The man dropped like a sack of bricks.

Flicking his eyes around the room, he counted the three other men, still planted, immobile with shock where they had been stood only seconds ago. Picking one, he lifted his arm and took aim, squeezing the trigger evenly as the man in his sight realised a fraction too late, his eyes widening as they gazed down the barrel of the gun. The shot went off, a fine spray of blood spattering the metal sliding door behind him and the man dropped, his body collapsing on top of Diego's in an awkward heap.

The two remaining men bolted. The one that had been lounging idly against the workbench drew his gun, in too much of a rush to aim properly and he let off a few rounds, the bullets going wide and echoing off somewhere above Cloud's right ear. The blond flinched down behind the cabinet, waiting for the man to run past and expose himself before he stood again, levelling his arm at the man and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the metal door banging open wide, blowing uselessly in the slight breeze brought Cloud back, a large gulp of air rushing through his nose as he blinked away the red mist that had blinded him for those painfully long seconds. The last man had run, letting the chilly autumn night into the floodlit workshop. He stood on shaking legs, unable to get them to move just yet as he lowered the gun and let it drop. The clatter was loud in the deafening silence and as he drew in large, shaking breaths, he looked about himself, down at the man splayed out face down on the concrete, at his blood pooling around his head and felt a rising sickness.

The garage was still. Three men lay dead and another unconscious behind him and with a trembling hand he ran it through his hair. Out of the corner of his eye Cloud caught a movement and the dark material of Leon's leather jacket. His stasis was broken, his pounding heart thudding back into life as he stumbled over to the older man, huddled against the wall, still clutching his arm.

The brunet's face was snow white, his eyes large and glassy and tight with pain. He flinched the moment Cloud put his hands on him, his lips pulled back into a hiss of agony. Looking up through watery eyes at the stranger knelt above him, Leon felt him place his hands to his cheeks, heard him call his name, but nothing registered.

'Leon!' Cloud called again, shaking him slightly.

The brunet mumbled something, his mouth working unintelligently as he tried to speak; a bloodied hand that had been pressed to his shoulder reached up to rip the blond's fingers from his face.

'Marlene!' he choked out, his pinpoint bright eyes sliding to the door behind them both.

Cloud followed his gaze, cursing under his breath as he took in the bullet holes in the plywood and he stood, rushing over to throw the door open. In the diarkness behind it, a small figure in white pyjamas sat huddled under the desk, her hands over her ears as she sat sniffling and cowering.

Cloud rushed into the room, knocking aside the swivel chair and reached under the desk to pull her out, crushing her to him in a breath of relief.

'What were you doing down here?' Cloud gasped, his eyes filling with helpless tears as her little arms snaked around his neck and hung on tightly.

'I heard noises.' she offered in a small, trembling voice.

Cloud allowed himself a few seconds for the fear of what could have happened to wash over him, before he gathered it together and stomped it down.

'Where's your daddy?' he asked her, pulling away just a fraction to look into her large terrified eyes.

'I don't know. He wasn't upstairs and I heard a loud bang and I got scared. Why were those men here?' large fat tears broke over her lashes and fell heavily down her ash white cheeks. Cloud tucked her head back under his chin and fought his own.

'Don't worry about that now. We need to get help.'

He cast his eyes about, desperately seeking the whereabouts of the office phone and finding it, he snatched it up, carrying both it and the little girl back out into the workshop.

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><p>The police found Barret outside, unconscious and bleeding from a head wound, but alive. The paramedics that had swarmed the forecourt of the Engine Shed lifted him onto a stretcher, tightening the oxygen mask around his face as they strapped his gurney in and prepared to take him back to Hollow Bastion General. Marlene had been taken back upstairs, Tifa volunteering to stay with her until the morning when they would visit the hospital and check on her father. The police would need to question her at some point, but for the time being they'd plenty of work on their hands.<p>

'Look, I'll answer your questions. I'll come with you and you can take as long as you want. But right now you need to let me go with him.' Cloud ground out, pushing against the restraining hand of one officer as he tried to get to where Leon was being strapped to a gurney.

'You're not going anywhere. I've got three dead bodies and three in the hospital and you're my only witness above seven years old. So sit down, take a breath and tell me what the hell happened.' The officer said, placing his hands against Cloud's shoulders and forced him back into the workbench.

Cloud staggered back. His exhaustion and fear had drained him and while under any other circumstances, the officer would have lost a couple of teeth with that move, Cloud had enough sense to know that he had to keep his cool.

'You don't understand he's my partner; we live together. I have to go with him.' Cloud shot back, his eyes dark and serious, edged with his all-but-spent anger.

The two officers gave each other a snide, derogatory look, curling their lip at Cloud who couldn't have given a rat's ass at that point what they thought. He just needed them to let him go.

'Fine, but you'll be escorted by one of our officers. Once he's stable, you'll be brought in for questioning.'

Cloud didn't bother to thank them, he pushed past and raced to the crowd of paramedics gathered around a stretcher, one holding an IV bag up high as the others tightened the straps that secured Leon.

The brunet was awake, his heavy lidded eyes glassy and vacant, the oxygen mask obscuring his face as Cloud came up beside him, raking his concerned gaze up and down his battered, blood spattered form.

'Leon?' he called gently. 'Lee, can you hear me?' he softly ran a thumb over the brunet's brow, and watched as he squeezed his eyes shut, clearing his vision, before opening them again and settled his gaze on the blond.

'You've got… a lot of… explaining… to do.' Leon replied sluggishly.

Cloud couldn't help it. Tears of relief flooded his eyes and he laughed. Sniffing away his unwanted emotions, he wiped his nose with the back of his hand and continued to gently stroke a thumb against Leon's temple.

'Okay let's go. Let's get him in!' a medic shouted off to Cloud's side, pulling the stretcher across the forecourt as they all bundled into the back of the ambulance. Once the doors where closed and the gurney secured, Cloud settled himself on the seat by Leon's head and reached down to grasp Leon's blooded hand, careful to avoid the IV line that was attached to it.

'I guess this… explains a lot.' Leon murmured as the engine started up. 'I never did… understand why you were… so difficult to talk to.' He smiled crookedly to himself as he let his eyes slide closed, morphine and the residue of fear making him sleepy.

Cloud recalled the many times in the past when they'd argued about him and his refusal to talk. About his dark, secretive soul and how shut out Leon had felt because of it. Those times left Cloud feeling empty, yet full of regret.

'I was an asshole.' He said, knowing every word was true.

'You were mysterious.' Leon corrected him, opening one eye a crack and lifting the corner of his mouth in that lazy sardonic smile that Cloud loved so much. 'I kind of liked it… Made you dangerous.'

Cloud gave a soft, wet hiccup, his shame and guilt convulsing his chest as he fought down the rising tears.

'Guess… guess I had no idea, huh?!' Leon managed to quip, even in his battered state.

'I'm so sorry, Leon.' Cloud managed to say, his bravado crumbling beneath him as he grasped Leon's hand between both of his and brought it to his forehead, pressing the fingers to his skin and relishing in their warmth. Leon was _alive_. Nothing else mattered.

'Would you… would you really have… gone after him? If he'd… if he'd killed me…' Leon asked, turning his head and opened his eyes to stare at Cloud. The blond lifted his head and settled his teary gaze on Leon, the orbs sharp and full of deadly warning. He nodded slowly, never blinking, impressing all of his rage and fear and promise into the gesture.

Leon wasn't sure how he felt about Cloud's answer. His mind was muddled and scattered, mercifully disconnected from his body, but he knew he wasn't upset by it. Cloud's silent determination – the promise he'd seen in his eyes – was oddly comforting. He'd never want to be caught in that situation again, but knowing Cloud had been there, seeing the anger in his eyes, he was strangely reassured. Leon was positive it was the morphine talking.

Letting that heavy implication settle between them, Leon said no more and closed his eyes. Letting sleep and sedation claim him, the last thing he heard before unconsciousness took him was Cloud's voice, promising to be there when he woke.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** You will not believe how long I have been working on this chapter. It feels like forever! Life is still as manic as ever. My husband's situation hasn't changed and my brother and niece still live with us. I've started my second year at university this month and to top it all off, I got a promotion which means more work. Not that it's a bad thing, you understand. I've been working hard for one for the last three years and it's a wonderful feeling to finally be recognised.

Still, this has been so super enjoyable to write despite how long it's taken me. I'm afraid I can't promise speedy updates to any of my stories for the meanwhile, due to the shit storm that is life at the moment. But I do promise to work little and often to get at least something out each month.

I hope you enjoy this. Chapter three will be out as soon as I can write it. xxx

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><p>"<em>Someday my pain,<br>Someday my pain will mark you…_

_With the wild wolves around you,  
>In the morning, I'll call you."<em>

The Wolves – Bon Iver.

**The Beginning**

Leon sat down in his usual seat, ordered his usual coffee - black, no sugar - opened his book and began to read. The bar was quiet for a Friday evening, but he knew it wouldn't stay that way. He liked this time of the day, just after normal business hours and before the swarm of pleasure seekers and binge drinkers descended. It was a kind of in between time, an ambiguous, indefinable hour – like a short breath being drawn before the deep rush of the night time – and Leon liked the strangeness of it.

The sound of a passing car rose and then fell away as the door was opened and closed and without looking up from his book, yet aware of his surroundings, Leon sensed two men walk behind him and sit down at the other end of the bar. Recognising Cid's voice, Leon mentally checked off the older man's arrival - the same time every day - and carried on reading.

The comings and goings of Seventh Heaven's regulars had become a part of his own routine, the regularity in everyday life appealing to Leon's meticulous nature and even though he sometimes found himself sighing with vague frustration, he overcame the monotony of his structured life the same way he overcame most things: by simply getting on with it.

Glancing up briefly he caught sight of Cid and the man he was sat next to and immediately did a double take, catching himself by surprise with the ridiculous action.

The man was blond and pale, with deep blue eyes. He was well made, with long muscled arms and broad hands that were grimy with oil stains, matching the overalls that he wore tied at his waist. The grubby once-white wife beater signalled that he was probably a mechanic of some sort and an educated guess told Leon that he was most likely Barret's newest recruit, over at the Engine Shed.  
>Leon traced his eyes back to the man's face and felt the rhythm of his heart miss a beat as he met the cerulean blue stare of the blond he had only just realised he'd been staring at. Snapping his gaze quickly back to his book, he tried very hard to fight off the rising blush that was steadily creeping across his cheeks. Feeling the weight of the man's stare on him, Leon bore his eyes into the page, putting a concerted effort into looking like he was paying him no mind at all. Once he was sure the blond man's gaze had moved off, Leon braved a sip of his coffee. A few seconds later however, his line of sight had inexplicably returned to the grubby newcomer.<p>

Like a covert spectator at a game of tennis that only he could see, his eyes flicked from the man sat on the other side of the room and then back to his book again, the words on the page beginning to lose their original meaning and after the twelfth time of trying to read the same sentence, Leon gave up, resigning himself to the ridiculous notion that he was now using the book as a convenient cover for ogling the blond.

He had to admit, though, that warm flutter of attraction felt nice. It had been a long time since Leon had found himself interested in anyone, even remotely. Not since... Well, not since his last ill-fated endeavour into romance. Ending his rather unremarkable, rather tepid two year relationship with Rinoa had been, by extremes, a very messy and very emotional affair. At least it had been for her. But that had been almost a life time ago, and Leon had forgotten what it had even felt like to be stirred to more than just a nebulous curiosity. Leon certainly found himself wondering more about this man than just his favourite colour.

From his fleeting, two second glances he had deduced that he wasn't much of a talker. He had sat next to Cid and listened to the old man grumble on for the last twenty minutes, quietly sipping from his bottle of beer and nodding occasionally; casually scraping a grimy finger against a pale cheek or rubbing an imagined ache at his brow as he conversed in low hushed tones. His fingertips had left faint stains on his cheek and temple and Leon found himself, quite disturbingly, obsessing with them.

He was, overall, a tidy person; he had been from early childhood, and the sight of mess and clutter had always sent him into an anxiety, its degree dependent upon the size and severity of the mess created. The sight of this man, filthy from an obvious hard day's work, made Leon feel equal parts besotted and obsessively compulsive. Even now he could feel his fingers itching to clean the man's face - to offer him a wet towel - anything to assuage his irritated inner critic. Yet the attractiveness of him couldn't be undermined by any of it. Leon's desire to approach him and touch his face was driven not just by his need to clean the dirt away, and that thought made his blush return with twice as much force.

Feeling flustered and unusual and completely not himself, Leon closed his book. Leaving his cold coffee half drunk, he slid himself off his stool and left, rather promptly.

* * *

><p>The next time he saw the man again he was on his own. It was Saturday and Cid was at his weekend bar, leaving the newcomer to drink alone.<p>

Leon sat himself in his usual spot, feeling any chance of enjoying his regular coffee melt away as his attention was once again apprehended by the annoyingly disarming young man.

At least this time he was clean. His clothes were plain and unassuming, though Leon noticed that for some reason that just made him look all the better, before giving himself one raised eyebrow and quickly moved his train of thought onward.

Removing his trusty paperback from his jacket pocket, Leon once again settled into the pretence of reading.

Without being asked, Tifa set his cup of coffee down in front of him, and as he pulled out his wallet to pay, Leon dared to venture a question.

'Who's the new guy?' He asked as nonchalantly as he knew how, tipping his head subtly towards the blond quietly drinking alone.  
>Tifa turned to look and Leon nearly died inside, sure that his cover had been blown.<p>

'Oh that's Cloud; he just moved here. Don't know where from. He's renting the second apartment upstairs. Kinda quiet though.' She replied, taking Leon's money and folding it through her fingers as she considered the stranger. 'Cute too.' She added, turning back to Leon and wiggled her eyebrows.

Leon replied with what he hoped was a perfectly neutral face and a few seconds of unimpressed silence.

Behind the blond, sat at a large round table were a group of early drinkers, clearly having a good time. They had been joined a little earlier by a group of men and one of them, while trying to impress his newest conquest, had clearly just stepped over the line as his last comment - lost to Leon, having still been preoccupied with Cloud - fell upon unimpressed and awkward silence.

Tension was immediately palpable from that corner of the room and while the guy was obviously trying to laugh it off, the woman he had just offended was less keen to oblige.

Leon watched as Cloud peered over his shoulder, a casual kind of interest on his face, before he turned back around and carried on drinking, completely unfazed by the social suicide happening behind him.

'I think it's time for you to leave, guys.' Leon heard Tifa say to the man as she passed, picking up their empties.

'Hey, come on, there's no need to be like that, we were just kidding around.' The guy replied, his tone implying he wasn't impressed with his choice of options.

'I don't care. I've asked you to leave.' Tifa was resolute.

It was a surprise when the group of men all stood up at once, their intentions obviously not to leave as they squared themselves up and crowded in on the small brunette. The situation had changed so drastically and in so short a time, Leon had barely lifted his ass of his stool before the obnoxious and now obviously drunk man had moved in closer, bringing his face to within inches of Tifa's.

'You gonna make me, sweetheart?' He snarled, nudging her forehead with his as she glared right back at him. The situation was only seconds away from dissolving into violence, and as the other women around the table backed up in anticipation of a brawl, Leon could only be impressed with Tifa's reluctance to be intimidated.

In the blink of an eye and a blur of navy blue sweater, the man had been wrenched away, his arm twisted up behind his back and his head slammed into the bar. Leon blinked again and watched as Cloud calmly applied pressure to the man's skull, grinding it harder into the wooden worktop as he twisted the man's arm sharply. An audible groan sounded as everyone went still, all eyes on the blond man and the drunk he had just immobilized.

'She asked you to leave.' Cloud said simply, calmly, all kinds of threat of violence in his rich, smooth voice that was deep and ominous.  
>Leon felt a ripple of... Something pass through him and he swallowed heavily.<p>

Cloud released his hold on the drunk and he slipped to the floor, clutching his arm to him with a hiss.

Turning to the man's group of friends, Cloud levelled them all with a calm and calculating eye.

'The door is there.' He said, nodding towards it. 'Take him with you.'

He watched them all leave - much more quietly and quickly than they had arrived - and then languidly sat back down, returning to his drink as slowly, the bar resumed its light chatter and the original group at the table behind him sat back down, nervously glancing over their shoulders at the blond stranger who had so unexpected sprung from nowhere.

Leon was the last to sit, his eyes still focused on Cloud as he tried to register exactly why he was feeling so... What was he feeling? His heart was hammering and he knew it wasn't all down to the adrenaline of an anticipated fight. The tranquillity and ease with which the blond had dealt with the situation - no hint of hesitation - made Leon feel uncomfortable yet undoubtedly impressed. The man had appeared so unassuming but had obviously been more than capable. In fact, Leon though he might have over done it a little bit. He had seemed almost board, as if he'd been dealing with his tax returns. His apathy toward the event, yet his obvious aptitude made something in Leon jump. And not just jump, but sway and quiver and, God help him, swoon! He realised, with a silent 'oh Jeeze' and a quick mental slap to his face, that there was something threatening about Cloud, and even worse: Leon liked it. At least, a little bit. And despite his best efforts - and all the sound reasoning he could give himself in the five seconds before he knew he'd lost the argument - he'd become completely enamoured.

Sitting heavily on his stool, Leon let go of the bar, realising that he had been holding onto it tightly. He picked his book back up, returning to pretending to read as he watched Tifa thank the blond for his help.

'No problem. Any more trouble, just give me a shout.' He replied, setting a bill on the counter as he disappeared up the stairs.

Leon gave it another five minutes before he packed up and left too.

* * *

><p>The third time Leon saw Cloud was equal parts chance and intelligent design; though the brunet tried to tell himself that there really was no other option but to visit the Engine Shed, because no other mechanics in the whole of Hollow Bastion would do.<p>

His car had started making a rather disconcerting screeching sound whenever he turned corners and even though he had never really been interested in or bothered too much about cars and motors, even he knew that wasn't a good sign. He pulled onto the oily forecourt in the hopes that someone would be able to fit him in.

Knocking a gentle tap on the open door, Leon peered in and scanned the cluttered workshop. There was a radio on in the background, filling the empty space with a thin, reedy sound and the main area of floor was taken up with a large pickup truck, jacked up onto its left wheels. Two legs stuck out from under it and the moment Leon cleared his throat and called out a cautious 'Hello' the rest of the body slid out. An oil smudged face with piercing blue eyes stared up at him, taking a few seconds to appraise the brunet before he sat up.

'Can I help you?' the blond asked, his tone low and flat, almost board.

'Um, yeah, my car… there's something wrong with it.' Leon replied, feeling his normally eloquent thoughts thicken up to gelatinous soup the longer he stared at the man casually wiping his hands on a dirty rag.

'Can you be more specific?' Cloud asked, a raised eyebrow creeping up into his hairline as he put the cloth down and lent forward to rest his elbows on his raised knees.

Leon tried his best to ignore the rush of blood to his cheeks and furrowed his brows, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head as he looked helplessly over his shoulder at his car.

'Umm, well it… it only does it when I'm driving.' Leon supplied, immediately wanting to stuff the words back into his mouth the moment he uttered them. He dared a look back at Cloud who looked faintly unimpressed, though it was hard to tell as his features remained smooth and seamless.

'Right.' Cloud spoke, the word dropping like a lead stone.

A few more seconds of unbearably awkward embarrassed silence passed between them, before the blond seemed to take pity on Leon and he stood up, careful to push the trolley he had been laid on back under the pickup truck with his foot.

'Why don't I just take a look at it?' He supplied, rubbing his hands on his overalls as he followed Leon out onto the forecourt.

Finding himself suddenly embarrassed all over again by the heap of crap he called a car, Leon winced as Cloud lifted the hood and disappeared under it. The blond however, seemed not to notice as he leaned in further, tapping a few things here and there, unscrewing a cap to peer inside before tightening it again.

'Can you turn the engine over for me?' He asked over his shoulder, breaking Leon's unconscious staring with a little jump.

Uh, yeah. Sure.' Leon offered, shaking himself with annoyance as he slid into the driver's seat and turned the ignition. Right on que, the screeching, whirring sound started up as Leon revved the accelerator and after a few seconds a casual hand came out from under the hood to signal that he could stop.

'Looks like your fan belt.' Cloud told him as Leon climbed out. 'I could tighten it up for you, but you'll just be back here in a few weeks. It'll take me 'bout an hour to replace the whole thing.' Cloud informed him.

Leon made a show of checking his watch and thinking on it for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly. He knew damned well he had nothing better to do today.

'Sure, where do I wait?'

Cloud pointed him over to a small bench hidden under newspapers and several cardboard boxes. Shifting the junk aside, and placating the older man with coffee, Cloud returned to the forecourt to manoeuvre the car into the garage.

Leon watched him work in silence; the only sounds were the occasional clink from under the hood as the blond dismantled the engine and the tinny voice from the radio. Taking the opportunity to gather his nerves and order his thoughts, Leon worked his courage up and by the time Cloud had finished, casually handing him the invoice sheet, the brunet was almost certain of what he was going to say.

'So, you're new to town, right?' Leon asked casually, making a show of reading through the itemised bill.

'That's right.' Cloud replied leaning up against the work bench. He watched the brunet from behind grubby blond bangs, a sort of vague exhaustion about his body language and Leon wondered if he was asked that question a lot.

'If you want… I could show you around, you know… just as neighbours. I live… I mean… I live just a couple of blocks up from you. We could maybe go for a drink, or something.' Leon garbled, immediately regretting opening his mouth at the blank and completely unreadable expression on the blond's face.

'You know where I live?' Cloud asked, his eyebrows crinkled in concern.

Leon's cheeks reddened terribly and with a sense of gut-dropping freefall, he ducked his head and quickly signed the invoice.

'Ummm, yeah, I've seen you at Seventh Heaven. Tifa told me you were staying there.' He added, afraid that his image of a weird stalker had been well and truly established.

'Hn, guess it's true what they say about small towns.' Cloud offered, taking the clipboard and Leon's credit card from the older man. He turned and disappeared into the small office, leaving Leon alone, his tentative offer still hanging in the air, unanswered.

Cloud re-entered a few moments later and handed Leon his card back.

'So, what do you think?' Leon asked, feeling failure imminently on the horizon.

'About what?' Cloud asked him, confusion evident on his handsome face.

'About that drink.' Leon replied feeling that sinking feeling rising up faster the longer the silence extended between them.

'Oh, umm, thanks but I'm good.' Cloud answered, casually nodding his head back to the pick-up, signalling he had work to be getting on with.

Leon felt an unexpected spike of hot anger. His rejection hadn't been entirely unforeseeable, but it stung none-the-less.

'You don't need friends?' The brunet asked rather shortly, a flush of anger colouring his cheeks rather than embarrassment. Cloud turned back to him with a mild look of shock on his otherwise neutral face.

'No, it's not that. I'm just… not interested.' He said rather callously, his tone flat and final.

'Right. Well, thanks for fixing the car.' Leon replied, his own tone short and clipped, clearly unimpressed with Cloud's apathetic response.

'Anytime.' Cloud returned, his blank expression never shifting as he watched Leon climb into his car and drive away.

* * *

><p>Leon knew that statistically speaking, if he wanted to avoid seeing Cloud at the present time, he would have to find another bar to drink his afternoon cup of coffee in. Yet for all the reasons he could have possibly used, he was determined not to be driven out of Seventh Heaven primarily and most importantly because Leon considered it <em>his<em> bar. He had been going there for years. If anyone was going to change their habits, it would be Cloud. And even though in the back of his mind, Leon knew that the likelihood of Cloud avoiding his own home was slim to none, it still didn't deter him from his rather infantile reasoning: he had been perfectly polite and congenial in his offer and nothing, not even the humiliation of rejection, would deter him from his routine.

Upon entering the bar, he was relieved to see that Cloud was nowhere in sight.

Settling himself, as he usually did, in his seat and opening his book, he waited for his coffee and made a tentative effort to begin reading.

The door opened several times while he sat there and even though he had made up his mind that his interactions with Cloud the day pervious would bother him no longer, Leon felt his skin prickling every time the small bell over his shoulder jangled and he cursed himself for his pathetic simpering. When had he ever been this preoccupied with someone – a person he hardly knew, had only spoken to once – in all his life?

Putting more of an effort into not giving a damn who would walk through the door, Leon managed to lose himself in his book for approximately ten minutes, before a familiarly deep and drawling voice startled him and sent any hopes of an uneventful afternoon up in flames.

'You still reading that?'

Leon glanced up once, the image of Cloud's curious little smile irritating and puzzling.

'It passes the time.' Leon replied, clearing his throat. His brows furrowed and his frustration spiked as Cloud lifted the book from his hands and turned the cover to read the title, before handing it back, feigning ignorance of Leon's dark look.

'You got a lot of time to pass? You're in here quite a lot.' Cloud commented, leaning casually against the bar.

Leon leaned back in his seat, needing the distance while Cloud continued to stare, a lazy, cocky expression on his face. Leon glared back, unimpressed at being caught off guard.

'What's it to you, I thought you weren't interested?' He returned, throwing the blond's words back at him in a dry tone.

Cloud shrugged, his manner casual and maddeningly indifferent.

'Thought I'd take pity on you. You've been reading that same chapter for a week. You look like you could do with something else to pass the time.'

It took all of five seconds for Leon to realise he was being made fun of and with an indignant curl of his lip he snapped the book closed and slid off his chair.

'Not interested.' He shot back, digging in his pocket for his money. He threw a note on the bar top and turned to leave, a small shock shooting up his arm as a hand reached out to stop him. He glared down at it, taken aback by the realisation that being touched by someone – anyone – was strange and unfamiliar. He realised he'd been on his own for far too long.

'Hey come on, don't be like that. I'm trying to make amends here.' Cloud said, his voice soft and apologetic. Leon's stare was still fixed on the hand on his arm and like a flash of suppressed memory he recalled those same hands grinding a drunken assholes head into the bar top. By contrast, Cloud's hold on him was gentle and warm. Leon could have ripped his arm away of he'd really wanted to, yet he stood there, allowing the seconds to tick by as he ordered his thoughts and gathered himself together.

'How about we start again?' Cloud offered, letting go of Leon and extended the same hand out for Leon to shake. 'I'm Cloud.'

Feeling all of a sudden light headed and completely out of his depth, Leon cautiously placed his hand into Cloud's palm and shook it.

'Leon.' He offered.

Cloud nodded, a warm and inviting grin curling his lips and Leon felt his throat go dry. Underneath the tempting and attractive smile, Leon felt that current of danger. It glimmered in Cloud's eyes with threatening, intoxicating, shifting shards of ambiguity, in the rough calluses on his hands and the cool, assertive set of his shoulders. It rippled faintly underneath his self-assurance, his almost arrogant smirk and Leon felt a shiver of excitement chill his skin, raising the hairs on his arms.

'How 'bout that drink?' Cloud said, his curious accent curling his words and made Leon's pulse race. Turning back to the bar, and without another seconds thought, Leon sat back down and waited for Tifa to approach them.

* * *

><p>'So what kind of books do you write?' Cloud asked the next night, shelling another peanut. He'd pulled up a stool from somewhere and had settled himself next to the brunet as soon as he'd walked through the door; several empty bottles of beer surrounded them as they talked quietly, their conversation private and conspiratorial in the noisy bar.<p>

'Mostly crime and thriller.' Leon replied, feeling strangely shy and embarrassed about his work.

Cloud gave a curious little laugh.

'I write for the local paper mostly and I have a small bookshop at the end of the street here. It's nothing major but, I like the quiet.' Leon added, peeling the label from his drink in small patches.

'Anything I might have heard of?' Cloud asked.

'I dunno, do you like to read?'

'No.' Cloud replied, shaking his head.

'Then probably not.' Leon said feeling oddly relieved.

'You come here every day?' Cloud asked, although Leon had a feeling he already knew the answer to that question.

'You're asking a lot of questions for someone who wasn't interested a few days ago.' Leon noted, catching the irritated little crease of the blond's brow.

'I figured you were interested enough for he both of us.' Cloud shot back coolly.

Leon eyed him for a few moments, unsure if he should press the issue and risk further embarrassment to himself, but in the end his defensive nature won out and the thought that Cloud somehow had the upper hand when it came to reading him made Leon feel strangely prickly. Besides, he kind of enjoyed sparing with Cloud this way.

'What makes you so certain?' Leon replied, his tone almost aggressive.

Cloud's face was serious and stern, the chatter of the bar rising above them for a few seconds as the blond let the silence stretch between them, purposefully embellishing the almost tangible discomfort.

'Your book.' He answered eventually, popping another peanut into his mouth. He chased it with a swig of his beer. 'The one you were pretending to read while you were checking me out.'

'How'd you know I was pretending?' Leon demanded, feeling his face flush even as he tried to defend himself.

'It normally takes you twenty minutes to turn a page?' Cloud asked, giving Leon a side long glance and a smug smile.

'Fine, so what if I was?' Leon retorted, feeling angry that he had been so transparent. 'What difference does it make to you?'

Cloud let the question hang in the air for a moment, taking a sip from his drink as he studied the back wall behind the bar, his weight rested on his elbows. He appeared so relaxed, so nonchalant in comparison to Leon's own tumultuous emotions, it made the brunet's normally ordered and rational mind nearly combust with exasperation.

'I'm here aren't I?' He answered eventually, turning his body to catch Leon's surprised expression.

Leon was well aware that in comparison to average standards, his flirting had left a whole lot to be desired. Yet somehow, against all odds and despite his social ineptitude, he had found himself on the threshold of a very tenuous and indefinable relationship.

'So… you're saying you _are_ interested?'

The corners of Cloud's mouth curled up into the most seductive smile Leon had ever seen and with a small chuckle, the blond resumed his relaxed lean against the bar and finished off his beer.

'I told you,' he said, his voice gentle and teasing. 'I'm taking pity on you.'

* * *

><p>The days and weeks that passed afterwards were a blur of dark, secretive looks and knowing smirks. A casual trace of fingers against the back of his hand or blue eyes filled with that heated hunger let Leon know when he was wanted, and the brunet , despite his better judgement – that ripple of warning that itched under his skin – always answered the call.<p>

Cloud's soft voice was the veil that had hidden bruising strength and his gentle smirk was the pall that had shrouded desperate, groping hands. His calm and collected manner fell away the moment they were alone, and Leon let himself be devoured by it.

He paid no mind to the voice that told him he was being used, that the blond man had given him nothing but the release of his body since the day they'd first talked in that bar. It was only the silence of the man, his strange allure that kept Leon from asking the questions he knew he'd get no answers to: Cloud would always be a mystery to him, that much was clear.

And in the most perverse way, Leon was using him too. Cloud was _his_ release, his remedy to the monotony of his ordinary life. He was excitement and mystery, his perverse secret to keep.

The brunet pressed a sweaty forehead to the nape of Cloud's neck, breathing heavily through his mouth as he contemplated their mutual exploitation, his hips slowing in one final lazy grind and before he'd had chance to catch his breath, Cloud pulled away.

Cleaning himself on a spare towel, the blond turned, tugging his trousers back into place and tied his overalls back around his waist. He ducked his head and averted his eyes as Leon cleaned himself up and made himself presentable, tidying the small office while the older man buttoned his pants.

'I'm going away this weekend.' Leon murmured quietly, his eyes caressing the line of the blond's neck as Cloud stooped to pick up a stack of fallen papers.

'So?' Cloud grunted back, not bothering to turn around, shuffling through the invoices with grubby hands. 'I'll see you when you get back.'

Leon swallowed around a hard lump in his throat, the man's indifference to him making him feel weak.

'I thought… well, I thought… maybe…'

Cloud turned a fraction, eyeing Leon from under cautions lashes with a sharp look in his eye.

'I thought maybe you could come with me.' The question fell between them, punctuation the heavy silence.

Cloud looked back down at the papers in his hands and collected them together, tossing them aside as he straightened his shoulders, almost physically bolstering himself. Inching backwards he perched on the edge of the desk and dug in his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. He took his time lighting one, his eyes dark and focused on a spot on the ground as he scratched at the back of his neck and blew out a steady plume of smoke, his shoulders now slumped, his whole body indifferent and cold, as if he'd already shut himself down.

'I don't think so, Leon.' He replied eventually, looking up at the older man through his oil stained bangs.

Leon had known it was coming, but the man's words caused the ache in his chest to twist and tighten anyway. Rejection was always a tricky thing, even when no promises had ever been made.

'It's just a weekend, Cloud.' He tried to reason.

Cloud held his stare for a long time, weighing him up, reading him, practically seeing straight through him, before he huffed an unamused sigh, shook his head and sucked in one cheek.

'Have I ever given you the impression we were a couple?' He asked, the question purposefully self-evident.

'I never said we were, but I-'

'I don't want a relationship, Leon. I thought I'd made that perfectly clear.' Cloud interrupted, his voice turning hard, the sound of it slamming into Leon like a wall.

The brunet could feel the beat of his heart beneath his ribs, pounding painfully.

'It's just a weekend.' He tried again, pitifully.

Cloud stood and threw his half-finished cigarette to the ground, stubbing it out with a heavy booted foot. The air shifted, a sense of finality somehow emanating from the man as he stood and straightened his shoulders.

'We're done here.' He ground out, walking back into the empty workshop, leaving Leon alone in the thick atmosphere of the office.

Despite the ambiguous words, Leon knew what Cloud had meant and he'd waste no time in trying to get the blond to explain. He followed the man out to where he was rummaging through a large tool box next to an old beaten up station wagon. The brunet stood watching him, his eyes boring into the broad expanse of his back and after seconds that felt maddeningly long, Leon finally felt the rage that should have come to him a lot sooner.

'So that's it?' He asked, painfully aware that he had no right to expect anything from Cloud, yet feeling cheated all the same.

Cloud stood and turned, giving Leon a casual throw away glance as he passed.

'That's it.' He replied, hauling a large wrench from the workbench behind Leon and walked back to the station wagon.

Leon watched him work, waiting for an explanation he knew would never come, before the humiliation became too much and with a shaky hand through his tangled bangs, he turned and left, his body feeling light with an odd mixture of release and emptiness

* * *

><p>'Having trouble?'<p>

Leon hefted the large barrel of white spirit into his arms and threw a dark look over his shoulder. He'd know that voice anywhere and without stopping to give Cloud an answer he splashed the paint thinner over the graffiti scrawled across his shop window.

'Nothing I can't handle.' The brunet murmured as he watched the offensive words begin to bleed and run down the glass, slowly dissolving as Leon splashed more thinner onto the window. Picking up a hard bristle brush he began to scrub.

'I've not seen you at the bar recently.' Cloud commented, leaning up against the window frame with that same casual arrogance that had, at first, fascinated Leon so much. Now it irritated him, making him clench his jaw down tightly as the word '_faggot' _slowly melted into a white swirl across the glass.

'I needed a change of scenery.' He answered bitterly, scrubbing harder.

'Because of me?' Cloud asked him brazenly.

The question was designed to throw him off and make him uncomfortable and it was something that Cloud had been good at. Now it only infuriated the brunet, who had never really been a game player.

'What do you think?' He snapped, stopping his scrubbing and turned violently towards Cloud. He took the blond by surprise, who had expected the older man's usual taciturn reply and he took a step back. Leon recognised the shock in his eyes and realised with painful clarity the blond had taken him for granted for far too long. He was sick of being used and tired of being taunted. He'd had enough of feeling like Cloud's play thing and he realised that the younger man was beginning to understand that.

'You said we were done, Cloud. We've got no more to say to each other.' Leon added firmly, his eyes hard and unforgiving.

He turned back to his shop window and carried on scrubbing, his movements sharp and harsh as he channelled all of his energy and disappointment into removing the disgusting word from his property.

Cloud watched him for a few moments more, waiting to see if the brunet really meant his harsh words or if he would cave. When the moment turned awkward and no more words were forthcoming, Cloud turned and left, leaving Leon to his shop window.

* * *

><p>Leon returned to Seventh Heaven eventually. He missed the familiarity of its surroundings and the comfort of its routine and again, that childish reasoning that told him it was <em>his<em> bar persuaded him to go back.

With alarming ease, Leon slipped back into his previous habits, his world continuing to slowly revolve around him, resuming its familiar pace and Leon welcomed it with an odd sort of embittered contentment. As he watched Cloud enter the bar and sit in his usual seat, he huffed sourly at the contradiction and returned to his book.

'You guys still not talking?' Tifa asked as she cleared away Leon's coffee.

The brunet's eyes flicked to the blond, and this time it was Cloud who was caught staring. Leon pierced him with a glare before concentrating back on his book.

'No.' He replied, hoping Tifa would catch his tone and drop her line of questioning.

'It's been over two months, Leon.' She said as if scolding him.

Leon placed his book down and fixed her with a glare too.

'So?'

Tifa sighed and shook her head but wisely chose not to say anything else. She wiped the bar down and left Leon to his brooding.

* * *

><p>'Hey Leon, what's this do?' The young dark haired girl asked, holding up a large, flat, shrink wrapped parcel.<p>

Leon looked up from his stack of newly arrived stock, the books scattered around his knees as he knelt on the floor and checked them off against the invoice.

'That's an ink cartridge for my printer. Put it down.' He told her flatly, turning back to his clipboard. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and continued his stock take.

Yuffie did as instructed only to pick up another parcel wrapped in brown paper.

'What about this?' She asked, hefting it into one hand to test the weight.

Leon sighed but humoured her, giving her a withering look over the top of his glasses as he watched her fidget in her seat on the corner of his desk.

'That's my manuscript for my new book. If you damage it I'll kill you.' He replied standing from the mound of books and stepped over to the counter. He lifted the parcel from the young girl's hands and placed it back in his out tray.

'Don't you have some place better to be? Why don't you go and annoy your uncle for a while.'

'I like it here.' Yuffie replied, wrinkling her nose. 'Besides, Uncle Cid says I annoy him enough already.' She added. Picking up a stapler she began to shoot staples out onto the floor making 'pew pew' noises as if shooting a weapon.

Leon lifted a brow and stared down at the young girl sat swinging her legs off the edge of the table. He caught her wrist and took the stapler off her, setting it back down on the table before giving her a pricing gun and pointed towards a stack of neatly piled books. I know the feeling, he thought.

'Price those up and when you're done I've got another box you can do.'

'Okie dokie.' Yuffie chirruped, jumping off the table and bounced over to the stack of books.

For two weeks every summer since she was seven, Yuffie had spent her holidays with her uncle in Hollow Bastion, yet Leon had quickly become the one to mind her while Cid worked. Outwardly, Leon protested. He was solitary and private by nature and it wasn't an image he wanted undermining, yet he couldn't help but secretly admit to liking having the young girl around.

He watched her get to work and was about to turn back to his own stack of books when the door to his shop jangled open and three men walked in.

'Can I help you?' He asked, brows furrowed.

The men spread themselves out, their presence menacing and threatening without Leon being able to place his finger on why and immediately the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

'You're still here.' The man in the middle stated, his tone level and calm, yet his eyes flashed dangerously.

'Where else would I be?' Leon replied, weary confusion colouring his words. 'Who are you?' He added.

The man in the middle sneered, the look altogether nasty and unpleasant.

'We thought you might have got the hint by now.' He said, looking around the shop with casual interest. 'But I guess not.'

Leon's face darkened, beginning to understand who these men where in front of him.

'If you think broken windows and graffiti are going to frighten me then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed.' He shot back, curling his fists unconsciously as he recalled the continued harassment and vandalism he been anonymously getting for weeks.

The man sniffed, shooting a glare at the brunet before settling his gaze on the pitcher of juice Leon had set out for Yuffie. He took a step towards it and reached out a hand, casually knocking it to the floor, smashing it and spilling the juice onto the carpet. He looked back up at Leon who stood watching him with a cool and level gaze.

'Oops.' He sneered, fishing for a reaction.

'Hey, what do you think you're doing?' Yuffie demanded, standing from her crouch by her pile of books.

Leon's gaze snapped to the young girl and his heart rate immediately sped up.

'Yuffie, why don't you find something else to do for a while?' He said, looking over her shoulder to the door.

The young girl stared at him, her displeasure turning to concern as she noticed the tension on his face and the implied message in his words.

'But, Leon…' she stammered, anxiety beginning to churn in her gut.

'Just do as I say, Yuffie!' Leon barked as the man took a step towards him, his concern for his own safety melting into the background as he began to fear what might happen to the young girl if she stayed.

Yuffie flinched at the harsh words, a stab of hurt hitting her in her chest. Leon had never raised his voice to her before and his unfamiliar tone made the unease in her belly spring free. She slowly backed away towards the door, her worried gaze never leaving Leon as he slowly disappeared behind the hulk of the three men as they closed in around him. With a panic and urgency that she had never felt before, Yuffie ran from the bookshop, knowing she needed to find help from someone, fast.

* * *

><p>Cloud was halfway through cleaning one of the beer lines when the doors to Seventh Heaven slammed open, nearly knocking the bell off its hinge. A young girl crashed through them, shouting and sweating, red faced from running as she cast her eyes around the bar.<p>

'Uncle Cid?!' She called loudly, panic obvious in her voice making a few of the customers turn to look at her.

'Hey, Cid's not here. It's the weekend.' Cloud told her, recognising her as the grouchy old man's niece. 'What's wrong?' He asked as he watched the panic on her face melt into real and tangible distress.

'I need help.' The girl cried, her large eyes beginning to fill up.

Cloud placed the bucket of line cleaner he'd just pulled through the pump onto the bar top and walked around the counter, wiping his hands on a towel slung over his shoulder.

'Hey, hey, calm down. Tell me what's wrong.' He tried to sooth her, placing a hand on her shoulder as she gulped in a large lungful of air.

'My friend, he's in trouble.' She began, a large tear slipping free. 'Some guys came into his shop and threatened him. Leon made me leave but I think they're going to hurt him!' She cried, hiccupping as she tried to control her fear and tears. 'I need to find my uncle.'

'Wait, did you say Leon?' Cloud asked, his heart jumping into his throat.

The girl nodded, wiping at her ruddy face.

'Yeah, he's gotta bookshop down the road. D'you know him?' She asked, hope rising in her watery eyes.

Cloud didn't stop to answer her. Throwing the towel down onto the bar top he pushed past her and flung the door open, the handle hitting the wall, chipping the paint as it slammed back and rattled the frame.

Bewildered, Yuffie watched the blond man race past the window and disappear up the street before she collected herself and snapped out of her distress. Following him out the door she chased after him.

* * *

><p>The door to Leon's bookshop was wide open by the time Yuffie made it back. A loud crash and a startled grunt made the young girl jump as she entered the building and with a wince she watched as a man stumbled backwards, the back of his head hitting the corner of a bookshelf as he fell. The blond man from the bar reached out, grabbing the front of his blood stained tee shirt to catch him and raised his fist to punch him again, the sound of knuckles connecting with flesh making Yuffie wince.<p>

The young girl cast her gaze about franticly, noticing the other two men had fled and the shop was now in tatters; books strewn about the floor and shelves completely empty. Leon's desk had been swept clean and a few free standing shelves had been knocked over like large dominoes.

Yuffie stumbled over the wreckage, hugging the wall as she tried to avoid the two men struggling for dominance in the middle of the shop. She watched the blond man twist sharply, undercutting the taller man's hold on his arms as he swept a leg out and toppled him, using the man's momentum to bring him crashing to the floor with a winding grunt. With a knee pressed to the man's throat, the blond raised a first and brought it crashing down into stranger's face, whipping it to the side. Like an elastic band snapping under too much strain, the man went limp, his grip on the blond's tee shirt going slack as his fists dropped to the floor.

The shop went still; the only sounds echoing in the silence were the blond's heavy breathing and Yuffie's startled gasping and as the shock of the fight wore off, Yuffie's panic returned to her.

'Where's Leon?' She asked, casting her eyes around the trashed shop.

The blond man looked up, as if surprised to see her there, his eyes struggling to focus as his face melted from rage to an eerie calm. He stood, chest heaving as he breathed heavily through his nose and looked down at the unconscious man on the floor, his fists clenching and flexing as if he wanted to carry on pounding the man into a bloody pulp and out of existence.

Yuffie shot past them, stumbling over the scattered books and wiggled underneath a toppled bookshelf, emerging at the back of the shop. It was difficult to make anything out in the mess and disarray, but trapped under a large bookstand that had come to rest, wedged against the back wall of the shop, was a pale and bloodied hand.

The young girl skidded to a stop beside it, kneeling quickly. Wiggling into the space she pushed the books out of the way and shook the brunet's shoulder.

'Leon?' She called, fear lacing her tone.

The older man groaned and shifted slightly, slowly coming round as Yuffie gently squeezed his arm.

'Hey, you, I need some help here!' She called to the blond, tears of frustration beginning to fill up her eyes again as she tried to shift the large shelf from off her friend. It wouldn't budge and with a cry of frustration, Yuffie slipped to the floor and waited for Leon to come round a bit more, his head cradled carefully in her lap.

A shadow fell across them both and Yuffie looked up to see the blond man hefting his shoulder against the slanted shelf and with a sharp shove, the thing came free, the young girl watching with wide eyes as the blond righted it.

With a peculiar and focused calm in his gaze, the blond knelt down beside them and took Leon by the shoulders, hoisting him into the crook of his arm as he brushed the older man's bangs back out of his face.

'Leon?' He called urgently, gently shaking him.

The brunet groaned again, and Yuffie watched the strange flicker of emotions that rippled over the blond's face as they both waited for Leon to wake up.

'Leon, can you hear me?' The blond called again, pressing his hand to the large gash that bled profusely on Leon's forehead.

With an audible groan of pain, Leon lifted a hand and pressed it over Cloud's, his legs beginning to work uselessly as his eyes flickered open. With a sharp wince, he reached up and grabbed Cloud's shoulder, attempting to pull against it to sit himself up.

'Where's Yuffie?' He groaned, leaning heavily against the blond.

'I'm right here.' The young girl replied, skirting round so that she was in the older man's line of sight.

'Are you okay?' He asked, pushing off of Cloud's shoulder and reached out to cup her cheek.

Launching herself into the brunet's arms, she pressed herself to his chest, relief flooding her as his arms tightened around her shaking shoulders.

'I'm fine. I tried to find Uncle Cid. I ran all the way to the bar but he wasn't there.' Yuffie's voice broke as she relieved her panic and distress. 'Some guy behind the bar came instead.' She finished, pulling away to find the random stranger who had helped her.

The blond man had stood up and was watching them with quiet, relieved eyes from across the aisle, his bloodied fists dangling loosely at his sides, his tee shirt stained and ripped from the violent struggle.

'Do you know each other?' Yuffie asked, her gaze flicking between the two of them as they stared at each other.

Leon nodded, his eyes flashing with pain briefly as he winced, his head throbbing with the subtle movement.

'Sort of, yeah.'

* * *

><p>'You don't have to do this.' Leon commented as he was helped into a seat at his kitchen table.<p>

By the time, Leon had been helped to his feet and they had all stumbled out from the alcoves at the back of the building, the man that Cloud had hit unconscious had disappeared and the room was empty.

With a weary sigh, Leon had surveyed the damage done to his shop, a small piece of his fierce heart breaking at the destruction wrought by hatred, and he sat heavily on the bottom stair leading up to his private apartments.

'You'd better go home, Yuffie.' He'd told the young girl who had protested for some time, before being placated with the promise that Leon would call her that evening to let her know that he was alright.

Reluctantly she'd left, leaving Cloud and Leon alone in the carnage and with a soft mummer, Cloud had offered to help Leon up the stairs.

'I know.' The blond replied, his eyes watching the older man carefully as Leon sat back in the seat, holding his bruised ribs.

'Do you keep a first aid kit?'

Leon reached up and touched the gash on his forehead, the cut still oozing blood and with furrowed brows he nodded towards the bathroom.

'On top of the cabinets above the sink.'

Cloud disappeared and returned quickly, placing the plastic box on the kitchen table and rummaged through it, pulling out cotton wool and antiseptic, steri strips and tape. The moment he touched a cotton ball, doused in iodine, to the brunet's wound, Leon pulled back with a sharp hiss.

'Don't be a baby.' Cloud commented, taking Leon's chin firmly between his fingers and pulled the man back into place.

'I can do it myself.' Leon snapped, wrenching his chin away and reached up for the cotton ball.

Cloud pulled back, his face stern and sharp as he stared down defiantly at the older man glaring up at him.

'I'm not the one who did this to you, Leon, so why don't you give me a break?' He retorted, his eyes flaring with that dangerous undercurrent.

Leon scowled back at him for a long time, his displeasure and churlish anger simmering just below the surface. He'd been no closer to forgiving the blond this morning, and the events of the afternoon had only served to complicate matters; the man stood in his kitchen now was still the same uncaring asshole he had been yesterday and no amount of leaping to the rescue would convince Leon otherwise. But then again, Leon's annoying inner voice whispered, why was he still here?

Cloud let out an exasperated sigh, his aggression melting away slowly as he set the cotton ball down and pulled out a chair. Sitting opposite Leon, their eyes now level, he doused another fresh piece of cotton.

'May I?' He asked, reaching up to the cut on Leon's brow.

Leon acquiesced, lowering his hostile scowl and nodded vaguely. Pressing his eyelids closed against the sting, he suffered quietly as Cloud cleaned the wound.

'You didn't tell me you were getting this kind of trouble.' Cloud said softly, his voice gentle with a hint of concern. He was met with resolute silence.

'Is it because of me? I mean… because of us?' Cloud asked, feeling guilt and anger all at the same time. They weren't new feelings for him, he'd dealt with this kind of hostility all his life, yet the fact that Leon had been the focus of this attack was causing him the strangest surges of rage and possessiveness.

'It's a small town.' Leon replied noncommittally, his answer explaining a lot more than either of them realised.

Cloud watched Leon as he cleaned the gash, all the while fighting desperately with his feelings of attraction and fury, confusion and fear. The man was maddeningly alluring. His nature both quiet and enticing and in all his years, Cloud had never met a man as capable of holding his attention like Leon did. It scared him, and this overwhelming newness, these disquieting feelings coupled with his own secretive past made those dangerous alarm bells ring in the dark recesses of his mind. He was accustomed to listening to his gut, yet Cloud couldn't shake the feeling that this time, something louder, something stronger was drowning it out.

'If you get any more trouble – no matter what it is – I want you to tell me.' He said firmly, placing the last steri strip across the cut. Reaching for a new piece of gauze, he splashed it with iodine and reached for Leon's tightly clenched fist. Easing the man's fingers open he dabbed at the bleeding and scrapped knuckles, noticing the slight tremble of Leon's fingers and tried hard not to let it bother him.

'Why do you care so much all of a sudden?' Leon asked him, his voice low and husky though there was no malice in it now.

Cloud could have said anything that immediately sprang to mind: he was a friend, looking out for another friend: they were alike, he and Leon, and people like them needed to watch out for each other. He could have even said that that's what neighbours did, people in small towns looked out for one another, but instead, he replied honestly and without irony.

'Because I like you. A lot.'

Looking up at Leon, prepared for the cynical disbelief, he tried to convey sincerity. He was a jerk and he knew it, he treated Leon badly and without feeling or explanation, but that didn't mean he was a liar.

'I just… I don't really have a lot of experience, you know… with stuff… this kind of stuff.' He continued, feeling his brows lower and darken at his ineloquence.

Leon sighed heavily and his scowl softened, the silent accusation in his eyes tempered with understanding.

'Well, that makes two of us then.' He commented with a gentle smile.

A small sliver of mirth slipped into Cloud's fathomless eyes and that quiet sultry smile curled his lips before he became serious and focused once again, reaching out to cup the side of Leon's face with a gentle hand.

'I mean it, I won't let this happen to you again, Leon. I promise.'

The brunet swallowed thickly and briefly wondered what it was that Cloud wasn't saying. There could be no promises between them, Leon knew that for certain. Cloud's declaration was bold and unwarranted. Leon was no more his to protect than Cloud was his to love, yet they seemed to be closer than ever to some sort of understanding.

'If you're going to make promises like that then you'd better be prepared for people to have something to say about it. Especially around here.' Leon told him, knowing that the kind of life he wanted – the kind of life he wanted with Cloud – came with consequences.

The younger man seemed to absorb his meaning, understanding dawning in his eyes as he appeared to strengthen his resolve.

'Then I'd better stick around. We can watch each other's back.'


End file.
